Andrew Lloyd Webber — Page 3

I just think that there is a double standard when it comes to Steve . I love some of his work just as I love some of Andrew's but it's the people that have such bitter venom towards Andrew that I don't get. They hang SS up on a cross like he's a theater saint and commit ALW to the burning at the stake. SS has had some MAJOR stinkers in lyrics as has ALW...but SS is ok because he wrote them himself, so Andy can't rhyme to save his life big deal. SS has had may a tuneless nightmare parade in agony across the stage and Andy has had some boring ones, but to say that SS is so perfect and ALW such crap is very narrow minded of some people. I'll go out on a limb here and say ALW has gotten more butts in theater seats and introduced more young people to theater then any other living composer of his generation so to me his shows are welcome in my I-pod.

I admit, I'm biased.

I did see ALW pick his nose and eat his boogers.

SS has always left the room to do that...

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It's true nitsua,

If you've ever seen the actual score of Phantom, it's not completely written out. (At least back in the early days...)

SS's scores are completely written--every chord voicing decided by Steve. Each inversion is clear. ALW had written chord sheets for the most part.

To be fair, that is not unusual for Broadway scores. (I myself have shorthanded scores I've written to let the arranger fill in the blanks--time being the issue.)

SS actually figures it all out. That's why he's "slow" at writing. His harmonies are intricate and dependent on the melodies--and most importantly on the character voice he's writing for.

It's always about story and character. That dictates everything else in his work. Which, also is why his "songs" are not always "lift-able" from his shows.

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I agree, however, I still think Sweeney worked as a movie, because it focused on the story and eliminated the things that would have bored a movie audience.

SS approved for the same reason. He made the cuts himself, for the most part. At least the underscoring made up for most of the omissions.

Things that work on stage and that an audience are willing to sit through, don't always work on film. SS wanted a thrilling slasher film and I think he got it!

Oh well, that's been discussed to death on these boards. LOL!!!

Decade crapfests, unfortunately are beginning to define American theatre artists. Scary.

Yet, poop makes me laugh. Sometimes, I just want a poop joke.

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ALW is a guilty pleasure, though I am a big fan of EVITA, his best, in my opinion.

They seem to be accurate? I hear the similarities at least.

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I totally admit I'm listening to JCS tomorrow in honor of Good Friday.

But that being said, my biggest problem with ALW (that hasn't been mentioned, anyway) is that he doesn't seem to know how to write for the voice. He writes ridiculous ranges.

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I feel like ALW had (and I’m sure still has) an enormous amount of talent and potential, he had written and orchestrated Jesus Christ Superstar by the time he was 20, witch is undeniably a huge accomplishment. That was followed by Evita witch in my opinion is his best score. I even give him credit for Cats. Taking a book of poetry and setting it to music is a great idea and in theory makes for an interesting piece of theater. The problem with Cats is that what should have been a small experimental off-Broadway show, was instead a huge mega musical that ran for 15 years. After this string of hits his shows start to feel over indulgent and more about the spectacle than the story. From Phantom on his shows have only a handful of actual songs that are reprised ad nauseam and strung together by piss poor recitative. I feel like he went from a composer who wrote out of a burning desire to create something to express himself, to being a producer who wrote for the sake of creating a commercially viable commodity.

And now it's his birthday...

AI probably chose him because knows who he is.

But I wish they would've chosen Marc and Scott!

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